Analyzing The Impact Of Distributed Denial Of Service Attacks Using NS2: A Scenario-Based Study

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks remain a persistent and formidable threat to modern network infrastructure. These attacks disrupt services, degrade performance, and expose vulnerabilities by overwhelming targets with malicious traffic. This research leverages NS2 (Network Simulator 2) to simulate DDoS attack scenarios and analyze their impact on key network performance metrics, including throughput,packet loss,and latency. The paper introduces a robust three-phase implementation framework—Preattack (Preparation), During Attack (Mitigation), an Postattack (Recovery)—to counteract DDoS threats effectively. It highlights proactive measures such as advanced Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), dynamic rate limiting, and collaborative ISP partnerships, ensuring network resilience. Experimental results demonstrate significant performance degradation during attacks, followed by recovery through mitigation strategies. This research underscores the importance of a structured, adaptive approach to safeguarding network infrastructure, providing actionable insights for organizations to combat evolving cyber threats.